Pictures of You
by Midnight-in-Russia
Summary: Naruto's putting together a photo album for his best friend's birthday. He hopes Sasuke likes it. Naruto reminisces as he picks out pictures for the photo album. THIS STORY HAS MORE THAN ONE CHAPTER AND WILL BE UPDATED SPORADICALLY.


July 22

Naruto was putting together a photo album for his best friend, Sasuke Uchiha. He was sitting in his bedroom floor, surrounded by stacks of photos dating from last week all the way back to the first grade, when they had first met. The photos threatened to fall over, but Naruto paid the threat no mind as he looked at the pictures nearest him.

First grade. The blond laughed out loud, the sound echoing through is otherwise silent apartment. The photograph showed a small Naruto dragging a grumpy Sasuke around a farm on a field trip in October. Naruto laughed again as he reminisced.

"_Field trip! Field trip!" seven-year-old Naruto shouted, bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet as the class waited to board the bus._

_The classmates echoed Naruto's yells and bouncing movements. His teacher (and guardian) Iruka Umino sighed, smiling at the ecstatic bunch of kids (with the exceptions of Sasuke, Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru)._

"_Quiet down once we get on the bus kids. Now, hold on. I'm going to assign partners. You've got to stick with your buddy once we get to the farm. Alright? I don't want to lose any of you," Iruka said, glancing meaningfully at each and every one of them, though he knew there was no real threat. The farm wasn't all that big._

"_Yes, Mr. Umino," the kids said in unison, seven-year-old Kiba Inuzuka rolling his eyes._

"_Alright. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka," he read off of the list. The two girls smiled shyly at each other. Ino moved over to Sakura and linked arms with the pink-haired girl._

"_Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga." The two boys were already together. Rock Lee was bundled up in a dark green jacket; Neji wore an ivory-colored coat, the collar of which was stiff and protecting his pale face from the rampant wind._

_As Iruka read off the names, Naruto waited impatiently for his name to be called. He hoped he got someone fun, like Kiba. He tried to catch Kiba's eye, but the brunet was too busy peeking into his brown-bagged lunch to pay attention._

"_Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara."_

_Naruto groaned aloud, earning a stern glare from his guardian/teacher._

"_Naruto, you'll be paired with Sasuke Uchiha. And Hinata, you'll be with Shino, seeing as how Choji's sick and couldn't make it today," Iruka trailed off. The bus honked its horn, and Iruka clapped, delighted to get the fussy children onto the bus._

"_Come on, kids. Grab your partner and follow me."_

_Naruto ran to the back of the group to find his buddy. He decided that Sasuke wasn't all that bad. He could've had worse. He could've been paired with a _girl_. He shuddered at the thought. Finding the black-haired Uchiha, he snatched at the pale hand not carrying a Power Ranger lunchbox and dragged his partner behind him as they ran ahead._

"_Hey, let go of me, you bozo!" Sasuke yelled as he was dragged to the front of the line. Naruto looked over his shoulder at the disgruntled Uchiha, blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight as they stopped in front of the bus. Black eyes glittered menacingly at the sunny-haired boy still holding his hand._

"_We gotta get good seats, Sasuke! Do you _wanna_ have to the sit in the back of the bus?" he asked, rolling his eyes at Sasuke's apparent lack of thinking skills._

_Once they were all seated in the bus, the adventure began. It started out as a loud ride, kids chattering enthusiastically about all the things they were going to do once they arrived at the farm._

"_What do you wanna do first, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, staring out of the window beside him. After nothing answered him but silence, he looked back at his partner and furrowed his eyebrows._

"_It doesn't matter to me. I don't like farms," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto's jaw dropped._

"_But you _have_ to like farms! They're so cool! They've got hayrides and animals and cowboy hats and _more_ animals and - "_

"_I don't like animals or hayrides or cowboy hats," Sasuke grumbled, glaring at the seat in front of him, which happened to be Mr. Umino's seat and his assistant, Mr. Kakashi Hatake's as well. Iruka turned around in his seat to regard the young Sasuke with a warm smile._

"_You'll never know if you like it unless you give it a chance, Sasuke," he said wisely._

_Sasuke was silent, which Naruto took as an invitation to put in his two cents._

"_Yeah, Sasuke! You might like it," he nudged the black-haired child's side with his elbow until the Uchiha batted his arm away. Naruto frowned but kept talking until he ran out of things to talk about, and, by that time, they were nearing the farm._

"_Alright, kids," Iruka spoke up, waking some of the snoozing kids as he did so, "we're almost there - " cheers echoed around the bus " - so make sure your coats are zipped up, and leave your lunches right here on the bus. We'll come back to get them at lunchtime."_

_Naruto peeked his head up over the seat and tapped Iruka on the head. The brown-haired man turned towards his adopted son and smiled gently._

"_But Mr. Umino - _Dad_ - it's not even cold outside!" Naruto pouted._

_Iruka felt his chest swell up with warmth when Naruto called him "Dad". His brown eyes softened at his glowering son and he whispered._

"_I know, but it'll be cold out later. Could you be a big helper and make sure Sasuke's got his jacket on, too?" he asked, smiling when Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically, disappearing into his own seat once more until only his unruly blond hair was visible._

"_Sasuke, it's supposed to get cold outside later. Make sure your jacket's zipped up," Naruto whispered, as if it was a big secret and he was the sole carrier of the knowledge._

_Instead of arguing, Sasuke double-checked his blue jacket and zipped it up as far as it would go. Naruto beamed. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and looked up at Mr. Umino, who was standing at the front of the now-parked bus._

"_We're here!" he said, smiling as the kids practically jumped over one another to get to the bus door. Avoiding the stampede, Iruka hopped off of the bus, followed by his assistant, Kakashi._

"_They're pretty pumped-up," Kakashi observed, smiling as he watched the kids pour out of the bus, holding their partners' hands._

"_Yeah," Iruka sighed. "It'll be tough keeping an eye on them."_

"_Don't worry," Kakashi said, "I've got half of them covered."_

_Iruka looked up at the man beside him and smiled tiredly. "Thanks."_

_Five minutes later, they stood at the entrance of the farm, waiting for Iruka to speak. Just as Iruka was about to give directions, Kakashi stood beside him and yelled:_

"_WHO WANTS TO SEE THE ANIMALS?!"_

_The kids screamed and ran over to the animal section of the farm, leaving nothing but muddy footprints behind them. Iruka looked after them, absolutely speechless. The grey-haired man beside him slung a muscular arm around his shoulders and laughed in his ear._

"_Looks like we've got some spare time on our hands. The animals will keep the kids busy for a while…" he whispered in a deep voice, trailing a hand down the brunet's back, giving him a playful smack on the ass. Iruka sputtered and blushed, torn between yelling and succumbing to the seductive man in front of him. He chose the latter, still keeping an eye on the kids as he kissed the taller man._

"_Sasuke, come on! You're such a slowpoke!" Naruto said, dragging his crabby partner behind him as they approached the fence holding in many different kinds of animals._

"_Hn," was all Sasuke said as they neared the fence. The spaces between the horizontal bars were large enough that the kids could easily slip between them and clamber into the animals' area if they chose to do so. Luckily, none of them wanted to._

_Naruto's grip on his hand was so tight that it almost hurt. Sasuke bit his lip to stop himself from crying out. He wouldn't be weaker than Naruto._

"_S'uke," Sasuke flinched at the nickname, "look at these goats! They're huge!"_

_The small Uchiha stepped closer to the fence, still gripping Naruto's hand with his own. He observed the mean-looking goats. Their horns were sharp. Their eyes were small and beady. They looked malicious to Sasuke. He unconsciously tightened his grip on his blond partner's hand._

"_OW! Stop crushing my hand!" Naruto wailed, trying to shake off the Uchiha's death-grip. Then, something clicked in his mind. He moved closer to Sasuke, wincing as his hand suffered._

"_It's okay, Sasuke. They won't hurt you. They can't. They're behind a fence," the blond pointed out in what he thought was a comforting voice._

"_I know that, you bozo," the taller child said, stepping back as the goat stepped forward._

"_Aww," Naruto cooed, moving toward the fence, still connected to Sasuke by their hands. Sasuke stood, rooted to the spot, as he watched Naruto stick his hand out for the goat to smell. The goat looked like he was plotting something…._

"_Naruto…" the Uchiha boy said as a warning…and then - _

"_AHH!" the blond-haired boy screamed, pulling Sasuke away from the goat area. "IT TRIED TO BITE MY HAND OFF!"_

_Sasuke frowned, although he was secretly pleased that they had moved away from the goats. As they were running, a flash went off. The raven-haired boy looked back to see Mr. Kakashi Hatake standing next to the barn with a camera in his hand…and a blushing Iruka Umino holding his other hand._

_Not paying attention to where he was going, Sasuke smacked into Naruto's backside when he turned around, not realizing that the blond had stopped running. With an "oof!" he fell onto the dirt ground, right onto his butt. Naruto turned around, surprised to see his buddy sitting there. He laughed into his sleeve and helped him up, brushing off the taller boy's clothes. Then, they stood there, panting as they looked around. More animals stood behind fences, and Naruto looked at Sasuke before he jerked his head toward them._

"_Wait," the Uchiha said in a small voice, catching Naruto's undivided attention. He had never seen Sasuke look so vulnerable as he did right then._

"_What's-a-matter, S'uke?" he asked, distracted as black bangs covered the porcelain-like face._

"_Can we do something else?" Sasuke mumbled, feeling like a big baby. Naruto looked a little put out, but he nodded, cerulean eyes scanning the farm. Sasuke felt bad as Naruto gazed longingly at the animals, but he didn't want to go near them again. How could Naruto _want _to go near them after the blond nearly got his fingers bitten off?_

_Trying not to think about what he was about to do, Sasuke tugged on Naruto's hand, bravely walking over to the sheep area. After about ten minutes of standing around the sheep's fence, Sasuke decided that it was worth it to see his new friend's bright smile. The Uchiha even touched a sheep on the head, though he would never admit to yelping when it took a nip at his fingers._

"_Alright, kids. Lunchtime!" Iruka yelled, and all of the kids horded around him. They followed him onto the stifling hot bus and grabbed their lunches. Then, the class filed off of the bus, one-by-one, and trailed behind their teacher and his assistant._

_They finally settled around some picnic tables. Kiba slid into the seat next to Naruto and started explaining all of the wondrous things that had happened to him and his partner, Shikamaru._

_Sasuke sat down across from Naruto and opened his Power Ranger lunchbox, grimacing at the things inside. The blond leaned over to get a look at the contents of the lunchbox. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and a chocolate pudding Snack Pack. Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head._

"_What? You don't like any of those things?" he asked, incredulously. Sasuke shook his head._

"_I don't like peanut butter and jelly or chocolate pudding," he replied, grabbing the green apple and taking a bite out of it._

"_I'll trade you, hmmm…" Naruto took out the contents of his own lunchbox. "I'll give you that peanut butter and jelly sandwich for my ham and cheese sandwich, if you want." He frowned; he didn't have a dessert to trade for Sasuke's Snack Pack._

"_Okay," Sasuke said, shoving the peanut butter and jelly sandwich toward Naruto. He noticed that the blond didn't have any dessert…and seeing as how he didn't like chocolate pudding…_

"_Here," the Uchiha said, handing the Snack Pack and plastic spoon over to his friend. Naruto's eyes lit up like fireworks._

"_Really? Aw, you're the best, S'uke!" he said, practically ripping off the top of the Snack Pack. Sasuke held back a smile as he turned his attention to eating his new ham and cheese sandwich._

_Before too long, lunchtime was over, and everyone was stuffed. The sun was still beating down on their heads, but the wind was picking up, chilling the kids and teachers alike._

"_Who wants to go on a hayride?!" Kakashi asked, smiling when the kids yelled out answers of the affirmative type._

"_Can you believe we're actually going on a hayride?!" Naruto's teeth chattered as he spoke to his quiet partner. Sasuke was actually kind of excited too._

"_Let's go," he said to his buddy. Blue eyes studied him for a second, and a huge smile worked its way onto Naruto's face._

"_CHARGE!" Kiba yelled, and the kids rushed over to the tractor pulling a large open trailer (also known as a bed) behind it._

_The kids clambered up the steps and sat on different bales of hay lining the short wooden walls. The tractor was loud, but not louder than the excited kids. They were eager to start the hayride and have a gander at all of the Halloween decorations set up on the trail._

"_Alright kids. Stay seated. I don't want anyone falling out," Iruka said nervously, yipping when Kakashi grabbed him around the waist and pulled him onto the same bale of hay beside him._

"_Relax," Kakashi soothed the brunet, pinching his ass for emphasis. Iruka's face was as red as a tomato. Luckily, the kids were too busy paying attention to the fact that they were now in motion._

_Country music played from the front of the tractor as they moved down a trail, forest on the right, and open fields on the left. The kids "ooh'ed" and "ahh'ed" as they passed pumpkin patches and scarecrows._

_Naruto was twisted around on his bale of hay, leaning over the wooden wall to point at the pumpkins. Sasuke held onto the back of his partner's shirt, just in case the blond lost his balance. He wasn't about to let his only friend topple over the side._

_They spent the rest of the field trip on the hayride, pointing out different animals and things along the way. Kakashi started a sing-along, to which they all joined in. Naruto even got Sasuke to sing a couple of lines._

_By the end of the hayride, everyone was tired, including the little blond ball of energy. The sun was starting to make its descent, and the cold was seeping in. Two o'clock as rolling around, and they needed to be back at the school by three, so when the hayride ended, Iruka rounded up the kids and herded them back to the bus. Nobody complained; they were all too tired._

_On the bus ride to back to school, Naruto sat by the window again, and Sasuke sat near the aisle. Instead of looking out of the window, Naruto rested his head on his new friend's shoulder, blond spikes tickling the Uchiha's chin as the bus bounced along the road._

_Sasuke whispered quietly. "I'm glad you were my partner…you bozo."_

_Naruto made a small sound and scooted his head closer to Sasuke's neck._

"_Me too, S'uke," came the sleepy reply. Sasuke smiled as he leaned his own head on top of Naruto's. He finally had a friend._


End file.
